Manual capsule filling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A MANUAL FILLING APPARATUS DESIGNED FOR RAPID SEPARATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL CAPSULE SECTIONS THROUGH THE USE OF TWO PLATES HAVING CAVITIES FOR RECEIVING THE CAPSULE SECTIONS WITH MEANS THEREIN FOR REMOVABLY RETAINING THE SECTIONS WHILE A MEDICAMENT IS PUT INTO THE EXPOSED OPEN ENDS OF HALF OF THE CAPSULE SECTIONS AND A PLURALITY OF RODS POSITIONED TO ENTER INTO THE CAVITIES CONTAINING   THE FILLED SECTIONS AND REASSEMBLE THEM WITH THE REMAINING EMPTY CAPSULE SECTIONS.

H. E. INMAN MANUAL CAPSULE FILLING APPARATUS Jan 5, 1971 File d April18, 1968 2 Sheets-She at 1 INVENTOR HARRY E. INMAN ATTORNEY Jan 5, 13971H. E. INMAN Y MANUAL CAPSULE FILLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-She et 2 FiledApril 182, 1968 0 INVENTOR Flg-l HARRY E. INMAN ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,552,095 MANUAL CAPSULE FILLING APPARATUS Harry E. Inman,Indianapolis, Ind., assiguor to Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis,Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Apr. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 722,255Int. Cl. B65b 67/00 U.C. Cl. 53390 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amanual filling apparatus designed for rapid separation of pharmaceuticalcapsule, sections through the use of two plates having cavities forreceiving the capsule sections with means therein for removablyretaining the sections while a medicament is put into the exposed openends of half of the capsule sections and a plurality of rods positionedto enter into the cavities containing the filled sections and reassemblethem with the remaining empty capsule sections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Medicinal preparations are beingincreasingly dispensed in gelatin capsules. These capsules are comprisedof a body section and a cap section. Each section is of a substantiallycylindrical configuration and has a rounded closed end and an open end.The body section is normally slightly smaller in diameter than the capsection. Both sections are slightly tapered along their sidewalls,converging toward their closed ends. Thus, the body section, with itsopen end passing through the open end of the cap section, may besecurely telescoped within the cap section.

Although there are many automatic filling apparatus for fillingcapsules, there is an occasional need for manual apparatus which willeasily fill capsules in quantities of twenty or more Within a matter ofminutes. Generally, such manual filling apparatus has comprised a pairof discs supporting only the body of a capsule. The caps in suchapparatus are removed by hand, the bodies are filled with powder andthen the caps are replaced on the bodies by hand. Not only is thisobjectionable from the standpoint of time involved, it also involveshandling the capsules which must be maintained in a sanitary condition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of this invention broadlycomprises a base plate, a body section plate and a cap section plate.These three plates are arranged to stack on each other, and then emptyassembled capsules are inserted into cavities defined by the bodysectionplate and cap section plate. The body section plate has agripping means in each cavity. The cap section plate has a restrictionin each cavity for supporting the larger diameter of the cap. Thus,removal of the cap section plate from the body section plate quicklyseparates the capsules and exposes the capsules bodies open ends forintroducing the medicament. The cap section plate is then replaced ontop of the body section plate, and means is introduced into theunderneath surface of the body section plate to close the capsulesections and eject the assembled and filled capsules.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide a new andimproved manual capsule filling apparatus. Another object of thisinvention is to provide capsule filling apparatus which minimize theamount of handling of the capsules. Another object of this invention isto provide an improved apparatus which quickly removes the cap sectionsfrom the body sections and then readily Patented Jan. 5, 1971 placesthem back in their positions on the body sections. Other objects andadvantages of this invention will be apparent upon reading the followingdescription in connection with the drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thecapsule filling apparatus of this invention minus the. cap sectionplate.

FIG. 2 is a view in cross section along line 22 of FIG. 1 illustratingthe apparatus in its beginning position.

FIG. 3 is a similar cross-section view but with the cap section plateadded and capsules introduced therein.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of the body section and cap sectionplates illustrating how the caps are removed from their bodies.

FIG. 5 is a view in cross section of the body section plate with anadditional plate used for leveling the capsule bodies.

FIG. 6 is a view in cross section of the body section plate and a hopperdevice for filling the capsule bodies.

FIG. 7 is a view in cross section of the cap section plate containingcaps being replaced onto the body section plate containing filledbodies.

FIG. 8 is a view in cross section of the filled bodies being assembledonto the caps.

FIG. 9 is a view of the cap section plate in an inverted position topermit removal of the filled capsules.

FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of the body section plate illustrating amethod for seating the capsule bodies more deeply into their cavitiesprior to being filled.

FIG. 11 is an inverted perspective view of the hopper device used forfilling the capsules bodies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3,the capsule filling apparatus 11 of the invention is shown positioned ona collector tray 13. It is to be understood that tray 13 is notnecessary in each instance to manually fill the capsules by theapparatus of this invention. Tray 13 has an inclined top surface 15 witha central aperture 16 for reasons to be explained hereinafter. A drawer18 is slidably mounted within the tray and serves to collect excessmedicament that overflows from apparatus 11 during the fillingoperation.

Apparatus 11 has a base plate 20, a body section plate 21, a cap sectionplate 23, a hopper device 24 and a tamper element 25. Base plate 20 asshown in FIG. 2. has an integrally connected spindle 27 which extendsupwardly as well as downwardly through the plate. The diameter ofspindle 27 is such that it is easily received through the centralaperture 16 on the 'trays inclined surface 15. Thus, base plate 20 isremovably positioned on the top of the tray in a manner that prevents itfrom accidentally sliding on the trays inclined surface.

Base plate 20 is circular and may be formed from a variety of materialsincluding metals and plastics. However, it has been found in generalthat plastic material will suffice and is particularly desirable for itspropertiesof light weight and ease in cleaning, as well as beingeconomical. Mounted into the base plate are a plurality of metal rods 28arranged in a pattern corresponding to the desired arrangement for thecapsules. One or more apertures 30 are also formed in the base plate.

Body section plate 21 is also circular and has a plurality of cavities31 formed in two concentric circular patterns. Each cavity has a bottomend 32 formed in substantially the same configuration as the end of thecapsule body to be filled. A small passageway 34 is formed at the end ofeach cavity and is of a diameter adapted for closely receiving a rod 28.Means for releasably gripping a capsule p CC 3 body 33 in each cavity 31is provided in a particular embodiment by the use of a resilient O-ring35 which is embedded within the cavity toward its open end 36.

Supporting means in the form of one or more spacing posts 38 is fixedonto the body section plate. Spacing post 38 is of a diameter to closelyfit within aperture 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the body section plate hasbeen raised to a spaced position from the base plate and maintained inthis spaced relationship by permitting spacing post 38 to rest on thetop surface of the base plate. The length of this member is such that itpermits the body section plate to freely rotate slightly above the endsof rods 28. A pair of apertures 39 are formed in the body section plate21 for the purpose of receiving alignment pins 40 which are mounted incap section plate 23.

Cap section plate 23 is also circular and has a plurality of cavities 42arranged in a pattern identical to those in the body section plate. Eachcavity 42 has a restriction which in the particular illustrationcomprises an annular shoulder 43. Thus, a cap 44 when inserted intocavity 42 will not pass through the cap section plate and instead willrest on an annular shoulder 43.

In operation the base plate with the body section plate and cap sectionplate rotatably mounted on spindle 27 are positioned in a spacedrelationship with spacing post 38 resting on the surface of the baseplate as shown in FIG. 3. Empty capsules which are normally sold in anassembled form are inserted into the cap section plate and body sectionplate with the bodies 33 positioned downwardly. As shown in FIG. 3, thebodies are gripped in their respective cavities 31 by an O-ring 35.

When all of the cavities have been filled with capsules the cap sectionplate 23 may be manually removed from spindle 27 as shown in FIG. 4.This step causes separation of the caps from the bodies inasmuch as thebodies are retained by O-rings 35 and the caps are seated on shoulders43. With the removal of the caps the bodies are now held in an extendingand upright position in the body section plate. Before the medicamentwhich may be in a powder or granular form is introduced into the bodies,it is desirable that the open ends of the bodies are made flush withrespect to the top surface of the body section plate. Referring to FIG.5, a circular leveling plate 45 having a flat surface 46 is positionedover spindle 27 to cause the capsule bodies to be pushed downwardly intotheir respective cavities 31.

With the capsule bodies now flush a medicament may be added. In theillustration of FIG. 6 this is accomplished by a hopper device 24 havinga bore 48 adapted for rotary movement on the end of spindle 27. A powderreceivng hole 49 is defined in the hopper and may be filled with powder50. The hopper is then rotated about spindle 27; and inasmuch as hole 49extends over portions of both concentric rings of cavities 31, powderwill be permitted to drop into the exposed body sections 33. Dependingupon the nature of the medicament, it may be desirable to use tamperelement 25 to occasionally force the powder from hole 49 into thebodies. It is apparent that this filling operation can be rapidlyaccomplished by one or more rotations of the hopper containing powder.Excess powder will fall onto inclined surface 15 of the collector trayand may be scraped off into drawer 18.

With the bodies now filled, the caps 44 may be replaced. This isaccomplished by mounting the cap containing plate 23 onto spindle 27 asshown in FIG. 7. Throughout this operation the body section plate 21 hasremained spaced from the base plate with rods 28 being out of contactwith the body sections. Referring to FIG. 8, the body section plate 21and cap section plate 23 are rotated until spacing post 38 drops intoits aperture 30. Upon the entry of spacing post 38 into its aperture,rods 28 will extend into the body section cavities and push the filledbodies into their caps. In order to prevent accidental discharge of thecaps during this assembly operation, it may be desirable to positionleveling plate 45 onto spindle 27 to cause the plate to rest flush withthe cap section plate. Otherwise, as the bodies are pushed into caps 44the caps will tend to be pushed out of plate 23 prior to completeassembly of the capsule. It may also be desirable to provide one surfaceof plate 45 with recesses 51 which will receive the curved ends of thecaps. In this manner the bodies will be more gently pushed into the capsinasmuch as the caps will be permitted to travel a short distance intotheir respective recesses 51. Uniform length of the assembled capsuleswill also be more consistent.

After the caps have been assembled on the filled bodies, plates 45 and23 may be removed from spindle 27. It is to be noted that plate 23 nowcontains the filled and assembled capsules. The capsules may bedischarged by inverting plate 23 as shown in FIG. 9. Thus, in theparticular illustration, twenty or more capsules may be disassembled,filled and reassembled in a matter of seconds with a minimum amount ofhandling by the operator.

The amount of medicament in each capsule is generally controlled by thelength of the capsule body. However, inasmuch as the capsule cap has acurved closed end, there will be a void at this end when the cap andbody are assembled. This void is sometimes used for increasing theamount of dosage in each capsule by simply filling it with additionalpowder. Referring to FIG. 10, this may be readily accomplished byforcing the capsule bodies into their cavities 31 until they are seatedat the curved end of the cavities. This is quickly accomplished bytaking the body section plate and inverting it over base plate 20whereby base plate rods 28 extend into the bodies and seat them againstthe bottoms of the cavities. As shown in FIG. 10, the bodies are nowspaced a small distance from the surface of the body section plate; and,consequently, a void 52 is formed which will be filled with medicamentwhen the plate is uprighted in the position of FIG. 6. The caps willtelescope over the bodies capturing the powder in voids 52 and therebythe medicament in each capsule is increased.

Referring to FIG. 11, hopper 24 may have a pair of recessed and taperedsurfaces 54 adjacent one side of hole 49. These surfaces are placed onthe trailing side of the hole as the hopper is rotated in acounter-clockwise motion. Consequently, surfaces 54 provide a tamping orcompressing effect on the powder to provide further assurance that eachbody section is completely filled with powder.

It is apparent that the apparatus of this invention may be used with avariety of capsule sizes by providing additional body section plates andcap section plates identical to those illustrated in the drawing buthaving different diameters and lengths. Base plate 20 with rods 28 willbe capable of handling a variety of capsule sizes.

The materials used to construct this apparatus are limited only to theextent of costs and compatibility with the medicament used in fillingthe capsules. Thus, various plastics and metals or combinations thereofmay be used. If plastic is used for the several plates they may bemachined or molded. Rods 28 and spacing post 38 will normally be formedfrom metal. Furthermore, although the illustrated embodiment is based oncircular plates and a rotary action, rectangular plates and a linearaction may be readily adopted.

Although only one embodiment of this invention has been illustrated anddescribed, other modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A manual filling apparatus for filling capsules with finely dividedparticles wherein each of the capsules consists of a body sectiontelescoped within a cap section, each of said sections having a closedend and an open end, said apparatus comprising in combination:

a base plate having a plurality of upwardly extending and parallel pins,

a body section plate 'having a plurality of body cavities arranged in apattern congruent with said pins and in coaxial alignment therewith,each of said cavities having means therein for releasably gripping a capsule body section with its open end upwards,

a cap section plate removably mounted on said body section plate andhaving a plurality of cap section passages coaxial with said bodysection cavities, each of said passages having an internal restrictionless than the diameter of said cap section and greater than said bodysection for removably containing a cap section with its open enddownward, and

spacing means cooperating between said base plate and said body sectionplate to selectively position said pins into and out of said bodysection cavities to effect telescopting of said body sections into saidcap sections, said spacing means comprising a post downwardly extendingfrom said body section plate adapted to selectively rest on the topsurface of said base plate or extend into an aperture in said baseplate.

2. A manual filling apparatus for filling capsules with finely dividedparticles wherein each of the capsules consists of a body sectiontelescoped within a cap section, each of said sections having a closedend and an open end, said apparatus comprising in combination:

a base plate having a plurality of upwardly extending and parallel pins,

a body section circular plate rotatably mounted on a spindle upwardlyextending from said base plate and having a plurality of body cavitiesarranged in a circular pattern congruent with said pins and in coaxialalignment therewith, each of said cavities having means therein forreleasably gripping a capsule body section with its open end upwards,

a cap section circular plate removably and rotatably mounted on saidspindle above said body section plate and having a plurality of capsection passages congruent with said body sections cavities, each ofsaid passages having an internal restriction less than the diameter ofsaid cap section and greater than said body section for removablycontaining a cap section with its open end downward, and

spacing means cooperating between said base plate and said body sectionplate to selectively position said pins into and out of said bodysection cavities to effect telescoping of said body sections into saidcap sections.

3. A manual filling apparatus for filling capsules as defined in claim 2in which said means in each of said body cavities for releasablygripping a capsule body section comprises a resilient O-ring embeddedtherein.

4. A manual filling apparatus for filling capsules as defined in claim 3in which said spacing means comprises a post downwardly extending fromsaid body section plate adapted to selectively rest on the top surfaceof said base plate or extend into an aperture in said base plate.

5. A manual filling apparatus for filling capsules as defined in claim 4in which said internal restriction in said cap section passage comprisesan annular shoulder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 803,145 10/ 1905 Winchester 53-390X 1,567,639 12/1925 Eastman 53390 2,322,169 6/ 1943 Smith 14l240 X2,742,749 4/ 1956 McGuire 53--281X TRAVIS S. MCG'EH-EE, Primary ExaminerR. L. SPRUILL, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 141-247

